Is Twitter overblown as a mass medium? An analysis of Irish Twitter users indicates that there may be far fewer people using the medium for political discussion than has been commonly portrayed.

A Dublin-based research company, Knexsy, analysed tweets over seven days (October 20th to October 26th) to try and gauge the scale of commentary relating to the Irish presidential election on Twitter.

The company measured three ‘hashtag’ topics: #aras11 (the tag most commonly used in discussions about the election), #vinb (used for discussions relating to TV3’s Tonight With Vincent Browne programme) and #rtefl (used for discussions relating to RTE’s The Frontline programme).

The company found that there were 10,200 individual accounts that used the #aras11 hashtag between October 20th and October 26th. It also found that there were just over 60,000 tweets using the same hashtag in the same period.

10,200 people over a seven-day period is a relatively tiny number of people. It is equal to about 0.5 per cent of the national population and is a small fraction of the million people who, for example, buy a newspaper (or several newspapers) over the same seven-day period.

Knexsy also found that the number of individual accounts using the #vinb and #rtefl tags was less than 10,200. And it found that there was a “high incidence” of individual accounts using both #aras11 and either #vinb or #rtefl.

In other words, there were probably no more than 15,000 people engaging in discussions about the presidency using those tags.

This does not, of course, mean that the only people discussing the presidential contest were using those tags. Nor does it mean that the reach of those discussions was confined to 10,200 people or 15,000 people -- it is possible that many more people passively engaged with those discussions by reading tweets instead of writing them.

But it also opens the possibility that there really are not that many people tweeting at all.

Officially, Twitter does not disclose how many Irish user-accounts it has. But a conservative estimate would be at least 250,000 (more likely closer to 350,000 or even 400,000).

Those who laud Twitter’s influence say that it is not the overall numbers, but the profile of the users that gives Twitter its power. Editors, journalists, celebrities and other ‘influencers’ are fascinated by the medium and use it every day. Broadcast media, in particular, are enthralled by its detail.

There certainly could not have been a more effective demonstration of this than last Monday’s Frontline programme, when a tweet read out by Pat Kenny (about a press conference purportedly to be given by a Fianna Fail donor) set about a process that may cost Sean Gallagher the presidency.

Nevertheless, Knexsy’s analysis is timely and welcome. Maybe it’s time we reconsidered how important -- or not -- Twitter is to the national debate.

That’s it? You cut off our email and our web-browsing for three days and you offer us Angry Birds (or Bubble Bash 2, pictured) as compensation?There must be some mistake here, Rim.Offering a few BlackBerry apps for a day’s lost email is like offering me a ferry ticket to Swansea in exchange for a cancelled flight to Paris. I just don’t want the freebie.Neither, I suspect, will many of the other millions of annoyed customers, whose email and internet business were seriously disrupted last week.But don’t just take my word for it about the undesirability of your crappy offer. A BlackBerry owner is about ten times less likely to download an app to their device than an iPhone or Android owner is.And it’s no mystery why. You, Rim, have a fraction of the number of apps that either Apple or Google have in their App Store and Market store, respectively. Those that are there often cost at least €5 each, way more than the 80 cents you spend on thousands of usable iPhone apps.Even when you find something that looks interesting, the best you have to use it on is a small screen with a fiddly keyboard.So you’ll forgive us, Rim, if we can’t help suspecting that you’re trying to kill two birds with one stone, here. You’re ‘apologising’ by trying to subsidise an unarguably lame part of your business.Seriously? This is not a great way to win back friends. Especially seeing as many of your customers are on the cusp of leaving you anyway.In the last six months alone, your BlackBerry market share in the US smartphone market has dropped from 24 per cent to 19 per cent (with Android market share going in almost exactly the opposite direction).The same trend can be detected here in Ireland. Androids and iPhones are now becoming the default smartphones, even in conservative companies.So spare us your mediocre apps offer, Rim. Give us a week’s free credit with our operator, instead. Better still, give us a month’s credit. It’s about the only shot you have of retaining business in the long run.

The ECJ has just ruled that the English Premier League can not prevent pubs from showing English Premier League football matches streamed from abroad, even when they are paying no licensing fees to anyone.

The case raises serious questions for Irish sporting organisations such as the GAA, the IRFU and the FAI, all of which rely on licensing rights from broadcasters as a growing part of their income.

The case arose when a publican, Karen Murphy, used a satellite decoder to relay Premier League matches in her pub in Portsmouth. The match stream had been broadcast by a Greek television company.The Premier League sued Murphy, who appealed the decision to Europe's highest court.Only the opening video sequence, the Premier League anthem, and various graphics can be protected by copyright, according to the ECJ."By contrast, the matches themselves are not works enjoying such protection," said the ruling.But the court went further."A system of licences for the broadcasting of football matches which grants broadcasters territorial exclusivity on a member state basis and which prohibits television viewers from watching the broadcasts with a decoder card in other member states is contrary to EU law," said the ECJ in its ruling.The case in the ECJ also involves the suppliers of 'decoder cards' to pubs and other entities."National legislation which prohibits the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards is contrary to the freedom to provide services and cannot be justified either in light of the objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums."

I'm getting very fond of the latest cameras. I've impressed with the capabilities, ease of use and extra features that Micro SLR (or 'four thirds') cameras bring.

For the last week, I've had Sony's NEX-5N, an upgrade in Sony's NEX-5. The lens I've had is an 18-55mm (3.5-5.6) model from Sony.

I won't go into a long review here (that's what the paper is for, folks!). But what I've tried so far, I like a lot. In particular, I've enjoyed one 'gimmicky' feature very much: the panormaic sweep shot. Earlier this evening, I went out to take a few panoramic shots of a rather nice sunset in Elly Bay, Mayo, where I'm hanging out for the weekend.

Today, Google took another step closer to becoming Dublin's largest single private sector employer.

Its head of operations, John Herlihy, announced that the company will invest €75 million in a new data centre close in Clondalkin, West Dublin. The move will create 200 temporary construction jobs and 30 full-time on-site jobs, mostly IT-related.

The significance of the announcement is not the scale of the jobs created or the individual sum invested. The importance of Google's latest Irish move is that it further embeds the search engine giant in Ireland.

Consider that the IDA contributed nothing to this latest €75 million investment. In other words, the value of the proposition for Google was not related to any immediate subsidy.

Since it began operations on Dublin's Barrow Street five years ago, Google has purchased three large office blocks (at a cost of almost €200 million from its own coffers) and increased its employment to 2,200.

That makes it a more important employer than all but a handful of companies in Dublin. its continued investment is also a signal to other high-tech companies that Ireland is a reliable, long-term place to set up an international, export-focused digital business.

Some of the fruits of that decision were seen earlier this week when Twitter announced that it was to set up an "international" office in Dublin.

Does Google stay in Dublin primarily because of the preferential 12.5 per cent corporate tax rate? Unquestionably. But would it keep hiring more and more people if Ireland was just a tax haven with little else to offer? Not a chance. Google is a cut-throat company that competes aggressively and needs top-notch, highly motivated staff to see its plans bear fruit.

So look past the headlines of 200 temporary jobs and 30 full-time jobs: the real significance is that Google is fast becoming one of Ireland's most important 'local' companies.

Yesterday I got hold of Vodafone's latest mobile broadband dongle, a Huawei K4605 model. Its selling point is that it is the operator's first HSPA+ dongle.

That means that it has a (notional) top download speed of 42Mbs. Vodafone itself claims that its peak speed is likely to be closer to 27Mbs, which is still a phenomenal result -- if borne out -- for a mobile broadband dongle.

So far, I've only used it in Dublin's city centre. While I haven't got 27Mbs (or anything like it), I have recorded download speeds of 9Mbs and 14Mbs (see screenshot). Upload speeds have varied between 2.4Mbs and 2.9Mbs.

This is a very impressive result for a mobile broadband dongle.

Vodafone says that its HSPA+ (not to be confused with HSDPA) service is available in Irish cities, with the rest of the country to be upgraded "within 18 months".

The 12 megapixel review model itself came with a 14mm lens (no zoom). It has a nice one-touch video button, too (full HD). It's light and has a full array of manual controls. The touchscreen is a little clunky to use, but you can get around using the clickwheel.

Even though I find a prime 14mm lens a little limiting, there's no doubting the quality of the glass. Like other Micro-SLRs (Sony's Nex-5, Olympus's EP series) this is a gorgeous piece of kit.

Here's the email that one Irish music fan got from Universal yesterday:

Important information regarding your personal data.

As you may have heard in the media this week, various websites hosted by Universal Music UK have been targeted by a so-called internet hacker. As part of our investigations into this illegal activity we have discovered yesterday that some user information on our website www.klaxons.net was taken.

The hacker gained access to a small set of data collected for the The Klaxons site login. Unfortunately the data obtained contained the following information that you provided:

email, password firstname and surname

Please note there were no financial or credit card details associated with any of your details and no financial or credit card details have been accessed.

However, we know that a lot of people use the same passwords and logins across many different sites. So for your security, we encourage you to change your passwords for any site logins if you think they may be the same as the one you entered for this site. Additionally, if you use the same user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them as well.

Also please look out for any email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information over the next few weeks.

Universal Music UK sincerely apologises for this breach of data security.

We take information protection very seriously and have put in place additional measures to protect personally identifiable information.

Please note that this is an automated e-mail, so replies to this address cannot be responded to. However, please contact us at ecrmuk@umusic.co.uk should you have any additional questions and we will do our best to help.

Looking for an iPhone 4 in Ireland? Wondering which operator offers the best deal?

Irish operators have been pitching some interesting deals on the iPhone 4 over the past month or two. As always, there's a fair bit of marketing involved in the presentation of the offers. To cut through the PR-speak, here is a basic comparison of iPhone 4 prices, availablility and conditions.

I'm going to do two tables: one based on 'free' iPhone offers and one based on comparative monthly tariff charges.

* A couple of additional notes, especially with regards to the distinction between "all you can eat" and a 15GB limit on 3's service:1. The 15GB data allowance that I refer to is the level set out in its terms and conditions for what it calls 'All You Can Eat' data. While the inference is clearly that data use is unlimited, the 15GB level is a figure that the company has inserted for its own reasons, probably as a precaution against abuse. Privately, company executives insist that the 15GB level is simply a nominal level that will not be enforced. But that 15GB is the only specified data level that a customer can rely on if there is any dispute with the company as to 'fair use'. The problem is that there are several examples where 'unlimited' services spawn disputes that end up being decided on what is specifically, designedly set down in the terms and conditions. On the 'all you can eat' service's terms and conditions, this is what it says: "Should your data usage exceed 15GB in a billing cycle and your usage affect other network users, we reserve the right to limit your Service."

Leaving data caps aside, the 350 minutes/texts that 3 offers can be divided into wither texts or minutes. Finally, 3 says that its 'free iPhone' offer only lasts until June 30th.

Finally, there are many different ways of comparing packages and mobile operators will always want to see the one that benefits their particular package ("what? You're comparing the devices without mentioning the free pink accessory kit you get with our offer? That's completely unbalanced!"). Also, I'm not going to go into all the add-ons (data, roaming etc) that operators offer: it defeats the purpose of a digestible table.

The outgoing government -- which you trounced last Friday -- has put together a few documents in preparation for the introduction of a 3-Strikes law.

When your ministers for Communications and Enterprise get into their departments, they'll be told by department mandarins that this is one of the first things on their plate. Your new Attorney General might even send you a quick email about it.

But can you please stop to think about it, before simply agreeing to sign Ireland into an utterly useless legislative situation?

Such a law will have absolutely no effect on the practice of illegal filesharing. None. Zero. It hasn't worked in France. It hasn't worked in Britain. And it certainly won't work in Ireland.

On the other hand, it may well send a signal to huge, jobs-creating digital IT companies that Ireland is a place that tries to legislate away personal digital freedoms.

I'm hoping that's not what you both intended when you talked incessantly about the 'Road To Recovery' over the last four weeks.

The music industry, which crashed and burned in its recent high court case against UPC, is now foaming at the mouth, intimating legal action against the state if it doesn't "fall into line with European Copyright law".

The last government -- under the now seatless Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan -- wisely chose to steer a course between what the music industry wants and what is in the interests of Ireland, as a whole.

It may be very tempting to simply introduce a 3-Strikes law. It may seem like the path of least resistance. After all, a bunch of bloggers are unlikely to sue the state, are they? But the music industry, which still prefers corporate jobs for big label executives over a workable, realistic, effective commercial strategy, will probably throw away its shareholders money in just such a legal suit.

It may be tempting to "avoid all of this hassle" by quickly introducing a 3-Strikes law. And yes, both Britain and France have done so.

But do we really want to send out the message that, digitally, we're the new France? Come to think of it, do we want to tell Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter that, digitally, we're the new Britain?

We certainly do not.

So please, Enda and Eamon, steer a middle course. Don't just sign bills because it seems the easiest thing to do.

[I'll be blogging regularly from the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.]

Here’s why the Nokia/Microsoft deal looks like a win for MS and maybe something less than a total win for Nokia:

1. Microsoft gets access to a massive phone brand with enormous distribution. Yes, Nokia has been ailing. Yes it is floundering at the high-end. But it still has enormous muscle in getting its handsets in front of your face in shops. Consider that one in two phones in Ireland is still a Nokia (according to Mindshare’s research). Worldwide, the company still has over 30 per cent market share. Okay, it’s less at the top-end, but that is a massive visibility boost from WP&, no matter what way you look at it.

2. Microsoft gets to put Bing on a mass-market platform. You know where Google is hoping to make a heap of money out of mobile in the long term? Yep, through ads related to search. And the same goes for Microsoft’s Bing. This gives the niche search engine a Hulk-sized adrenalin shot.

3. Microsoft gets a boost for its starting-to-flounder Microsoft Office platform. Know where Microsoft makes the biggest single chunk of its money? That’s right -- licenses for Microsoft Office. And that business is coming under heavy fire from free -- or very cheap -- cloud-based rivals (such as Google Docs). Here’s a way to give Office a big push on mobile devices.

4. Microsoft gets its profitable gaming platform onto mobiles. Xbox Live is part of the deal: you’ll be able to use your Live account to download games, a service which will get more and more appealing as the smartphones get more powerful.

5. There are going to be lots of people ready with a big fat ‘I Told You So’ if people keep buying the smartphone systems they’re currently flocking to: iPhone and Android (Blackberry is falling back a little). Why didn’t Nokia do the deal with Android? We know they held discussions. Yes, Google is pernickety about contolling the development and parameters of its own OS. But Google is the one with the product people want, here; if there is a dispute over who knows best in smartphone OS, Android beats Nokia, simple as that.

So what does Nokia get?

1. In fairness, Nokia gets an operating system that is more advanced and slicker than Symbian or MeeGo are ever going to be. WP7 is arguably third, behind iOS and Android. But it’s still a nice system. And it’s leagues head of current Symbian offerings, which has ruined the technically superlative Nokia N8. And MeeGo? We’ve been waiting for that for too long. As Stephen Elop said the other day in that famous ‘burning platforms’ memo, MeeGo may not even see the light of day at all this year. Let’s face it: Nokia’s OS efforts have become a big #fail.

2. Nokia also gets money. Apparently, Microsoft is happy to pay to get WP 7 onto Nokia’s array of handsets. That’s sure to sweeten the deal for anyone.

3. Nokia also gets to say that it has finally recognised that it is going down the wrong route.

Sogeti is a great company. I mean it -- it actually knows what it's doing. But it's amazing that it gets any referrals if it's relying on the corporate literature it puts out.

For example, it has just produced a book called Don't Be Evil. It's basically an extended 'white paper' on the future of business IT (and stuff).

I have a copy: it's beautifully designed and produced. And it's CHOCK full of jargon. Take this doozy...

“After any major transition, the new paradigm does not just come out of the blue and we have to nurture it with sensible support. The current economic and financial crisis has brought us to tipping point. This means that banking and startups will be given a subordinate role and that politics, regardless of its leanings, will look forward rather than back. Looking ahead to what now needs to be done could even result in a “green wave.”Everything has to be concerned with sustainability, the energy issue and CO2 emissions. The next paradigm could well mean that the economy would take such a People-Planet-Profit turn.”

Wow, is it possible to squeeze any more buzzwords in there? Apparently it is.

“Digital First” should be adopted as a rule of thumb, since even IT's "productivity paradox" appears to be resolved. Digital technology is now well reflected in the productivity statistics and displays a positive effect. Also, it is necessary to further explore our working together in a virtual collaboration economy. Thanks to technology, the rules of the People-Planet-Profit game are changing, including organizing value, culture and the relationship between customers and businesses, employees and management.

It's not just politicians who like jargon and tired old cliches -- we journalists are rather fond of 'em too. With an endless stream of political hacks on radio on television over the next three weeks, here's a way to stay amused.

I call it PolCorr Bingo. The rules are simple. Every time you hear a hackneyed, cliched phrase, tick it off. If you can stick through an entire evening of Prime Time and VIncent Browne, you have a really good shot of filling the card. Good luck!

It's sad. There is little or no debate about quality in third-level education. It's all about access and free fees.

For example, how many patents do we file? How many world-class scholars do we produce? Any Nobel laureates? (And no, neither Seamus Heaney nor Brian Friel are products of the Irish education system.) How many students from abroad aspire to come to an Irish university as opposed to a British, American, French or Belgian one?

Think this doesn't matter? Tell me this, then: what university did Mark Zuckerberg go to? (Yes, that would be the guy who's increasing employment from 300 to 400 in his Dublin office.) Think someone from an Irish university is likely to found a world-beating company based on the creative/innovative environment there?

The lack of any interest in this area of Irish education -- both from political parties or from our 'sophisticated electorate' -- is a shame. But it probably reflects voters' priorities accurately. Ireland is not really ambitious. Sure, we're 'well-educated' compared to Romania and Albania. But we're not compared to Holland, Belgium and Denmark. And that doesn't even bother us: we're still kind of proud that we're not really poor and scraping and bowing before someone.

So a 'debate' on education is purely about fees and classroom sizes; it's not about producing world-class scholars, innovators or thinkers; it's about making sure middle-income people can afford two cars and two holidays because they've no third-level fees. It's also about staving off illiteracy. (Reducing illiteracy is a proper goal, but surely not the totality of an education policy.)

What a shame.

Anyhow, here are four basic questions (to keep it simple) about education, technology (the broadband one I'm throwing in just because I'm curious) and industry I have for political parties. In a truly developed country, there would be someone running for office who would feel it's worth their while having genuine answers to these questions.

Education

1. How are colleges to improve standards (recruit top people, attract best students, create the best research) without the reintroduction of student fees or additional exchequer funding?

Avoiding-the-question answer: "We need a system that provides access to all, regardless of background." [Access to education is a different issue.]

2. At a more general level, Irish third level institutions currently trail their counterparts in leading European and US cities in innovation and achievement. Is this of concern and, if so, how can it be reversed?

Avoiding-the-question answer: "Education is a key human right for all Irish citizens. If elected, we intend to ensure that Irish students have the best facilities possible." [That wasn't the question.]

Broadband

3. Eircom wants the state to help fund a new fibre network. Do you intend to do that? (Note: that's a spending commitment.) If not, do you have a plan (or any thoughts whatsoever) on how high speed broadband should be rolled out nationally outside urban centres?

Avoiding-the-question answer: "It is our intention to ensure that all citizens have access to modern communications. [Our party] will end the digital divide." [99% of citizens already have access to modern communications, final 1% next year. That wasn't the question asked.]

Industrial priorities

4. If elected, what kind of industry development would you prioritise, and how?

Avoiding-the-question answer: "The first question we have to answer is how to get our 400,000 people working again, And that's *our* priority." [Complete avoidance of question.]

Thought you knew Ireland's most followed Twitter account? No, it's not Dara O'Briain (289,000 followers) or The Script (216,000 followers) or Jedward (150,000 followers). It's not even Cormac Moylan (see below on this blog).

In fact, it's Monaghan-based Sinead Duffy.

Wait a minute -- Sinead who?

Sinead Duffy is a lifecoach (with her own company, Great Minds) who has set up the mother of all Twitter accounts. Called Greatest Quotes, it's an auto-tweeting feed of... greatest quotes. Astonishingly, Greatest Quotes is growing by 10,000 followers per week. That's almost as much as Ashton Kutcher.

Ah, you think -- that's a bit of a swizz. Sure, just set up a few RSS feeds and let it take off; that's not a real account.

Here's a Q&A I did with Duffy on the account, her business and her plans.

How long have you been tweeting?I've tweeted since April 2009. Initially I used Twitter to increase traffic to my website, gain profile, generate awareness about my business and ultimately increase sales. Since then I've grown an extensive mailing list, changed how I do business and generated several revenue streams.

What kind of growth have you seen along the way? As in, how many new followers do you get a month?Presently, my following is increasing by almost 50,000 new followers per month. This compares to approximately 1,500 new followers per month this time last year. I project that this account will grow to a million followers this year.

Do you have any idea what percentage of your account's following is Irish? Would it even be 10%?Less than 10% of my followers are Irish.

Why do you think your account has garnered so many follwers?Greatest Quotes is successful for many reasons. For a start, followers get exactly what they expect. That means quotes and not social interaction, retweets or aggressive marketing. I carefully select quotes that I feel will resonate with people. The feedback that I receive clearly indicates that they do. The carefully selected quotes are regular, short, concise and resonate with followers. There is no hard sell and bogus marketing like many Twitter accounts.

How much time do you have to spend on this Twitter account every day?I invested a great deal of time at the outset selecting material, scheduling times and managing time lines. Now the account is automatically managed. I spend one day per month maintaining this. I also reply to all direct messages once per week and follow up on emails, opportunities, bookings, meetings, negotiations and so on.

Do companies ever approach you to try and get you to tweet about stuff? If so, have you ever done them the favour?Yes, I am constantly being approached by business owners and network marketers with business opportunities. Business-owners who know and understand Twitter realise that having 330,000 followers is like having a shop window where 330,000 people pass by on a regular basis. It is important to maintain the trust of followers so the introduction of third party products on the site must be carefully evaluated.

Does your large Twitter following translate into good business? If so, much? Have you won any significant business because of it?My Twitter presence has opened up lots of opportunities for me. I have huge traffic spending to my website each week and people contacting me with requests. It's mostly through Twitter that potential clients find me. I coach select overseas clients via Skype and charge through Paypal.

What's next for you, business-wise? I am currently working on developing interactive software to sell online. The Twitter following provides a ready made target audience to market that software. Translating the following into a constant revenue stream is a challenge, but once perfected, the possibilities to earn substantial revenues are very real. We are no longer limited by location, currencies or time differences.

At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.

I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.

I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.

Steve

So that's that, yes? Just leave the man alone and let him get on with whatever is ailing him, right?

Wrong. Apple is the second biggest company in the world. Expecting investors not to enquire as to the nature of Jobs' health concerns is like asking an audience to overlook David Letterman's absence from the David Letterman Show.

Is Jobs out for a month? For 3 months? For good?

Sure, Apple has Tim Cook and Jonathan Ive, but no-one is under any illusions: Apple is the success it is because of Steve Jobs. And him alone.

A counter-argument might be: "why should investors have a right to know? If they're so worried, just sell the stock."

But Jobs uses the press ruthlessly to suit Apple's purposes. So asking it not to enquire as to the cause of his absence of the world's most important chief executive is just nuts.

Damien Mulley has conducted a survey among 101 teenagers on their mobile and digital habits. It throws up some interesting trends. For example, more teens use Facebook than phone calls to contact mates on their mobile. (The Irish Times takes a slightly different tone in its coverage of the survey here.) Also, Meteor is cited as having almost half the teen market, with Nokia being the most common handset (though iPhone is "most desired). Both of these statistics are probably as much to do with parents and budgets than individual preferences.

What happens to your digital accounts when you die? That's what iDeparted.com is for. Mainly Twitter and Facebook, but also blogs.

Related: the blog of David Stewart, a much-missed Irish journalistic colleague, is still up. The last entry was written two weeks before he died, in 2006. Bit macabre.

It seems that Sky has nixed its plans to introduce broadband into the Irish market.

For the time being, at least. The satellite broadcaster, which has a broadband service in Britain, had been telling its customers for some time that a broadband launch was on the way. But it has recently changed its tune with punters, citing "differences" in the Irish market. Here's the Irish office's official word on the matter:

"Sky successfully launched broadband and telephony services to its British customers over 4 years ago. We would like to do the same in Ireland but there are a number of differences between the UK and Irish marketplaces. Sky continues to explore opportunities to launch broadband and telephony services in Ireland".

Decoded, this means that we'll be lucky to see a launch by the summer, if at all this year. Whether or not this news will come as a disappointment to anyone is unclear, as the service would, most likely, have simply been a rebadged Eircom product. And with 100Mbs services now in the market, 1Mbs satellite broadband isn't exactly a compelling prospect.

Think you have what it takes to be a social media player? If not, here are a few terms (alphabetically arranged) that will get you going. (Thanks to folks on Twitter who threw in a few suggestions.)

Centric: anything can be '-centric.' Go ahead, try it. You're in sales? That's great, you're now customer-centric. Call Liveline much? That'll make you media-centric. Use Facebook a few times each week? Wow, you're a web-centric kind of guy (or gal).

Cloud: nothing is outside the cloud. If you're a taximan with an email address, don't worry: your business is 'in the cloud'. And there's no way it's all going to end with SkyNet.

Conversation: Twitter isn't a micro-blogging service or a chat forum. It's a 'Conversation' (the capital 'C' is important). If you have a point to make, you don't sign in and start spouting way. You 'join the Conversation'. With a latte.

Curation: if you don't have much to say yourself, don't worry: copy and paste what others are saying. This is a new, valuable service all on its own called 'curation'. It's easy to do (but is highly skillful also, got that?).

Engagement: instead of answering, replying, emailing or talking to someone, 'engage' with them. If you think that's splitting hairs, you're just not a true social media pro.

Facebooking: Americans have taught us that there is no noun on earth that cannot be verbisised.

Friending: like Facebooking, friending is now widespread. Definitely not to be confused with mating, though.

FTW: the term 'for the win' or 'FTW' may sound like someone made it up as a meme (cf below) to see how far it would travel. But it is a sign of true Twitter authenticity. To be used at least once every 15 tweets.

Killer: remember when 'cool' was the corporate adverb of choice? Well that's no longer cool. Last year, an official handover ceremony took place. Killer is now the killer term.

Like: "I liked that store." No, that doesn't mean that I appreciated it, it means that I clicked the thumbs-up symbol on that store's Facebook page.

Meme: US political pundits used to create (and slavishly follow) conversation 'memes', or talking points. For us in social media world, it's the amusing joke (or trend) du jour. Often accompanied with a picture. Or a hashtag (on Twitter).

Organic: you may have thought organic was a little mass-produced at this point. Although not as killer (cf above) a term as before, organic still has solid roots in our social media lingo.

Pivot: what used to be a technical financial term is now coming at us, full-on. The pivot of this sentence just occurred eight words ago.

Smart: according to surveys, the word 'smart' was used 19,780 times by government ministers in 2010. And that was just in the week before Christmas. Smart can now unashamedly be used to describe anything (at all) that has even the whiff of an internet link to it.

Solutions: an oldie but a goodie. Die-hard users (men in their late 40s and 50s) are keeping this one alive as their 'cyberspace offerings' migrate onto 'their Facebook'.

Social: whatever it is you produce or offer, it is nothing -- NOTHING -- if it does not have a 'social' element to it. Forget about old-fashioned concepts such as profitability, company yields and such nonsense. If you can get an unemployed web designer to 'like' (cf above) your page (or better still, become a 'fan'), that's the only thing that matters.

The Gen: farewell, 'what's the story?' and 'what's the scoop?'. Hello, 'what's the gen?'.

By the way, you score extra points if you can string a few terms together. Go ahead, try it: cloud-centric curation. Organic friending solutions. Smart social engagement. Just remember to keep a straight face: you could secure €1.2 million in seed funding from some mug.

Notice an increase in your spam? You're not alone. Spam has rocketed in January, according to experts. And it's mainly down to one Russian botnet, Rustock (responsible for up to 50% of all world spam at its peak).